Cairns Diving

Yes! Diving in Cairns is definitely worth it – apart from the awesome underwater visibility, Cairns is the closest city to the reef, which means less time travelling and more time diving. There’s a range of dive boats visiting an array of destinations, which enables you to pick the best tour to suit your diving abilities and the needs of any other travelers visiting the reef with you. NB: If you are wondering, ‘what’s better for diving, Cairns or the Whitsundays?’ – we’ve dived in both locations and can assure you the visibility and coral cover you will see from Cairns, is better than the Whitsundays.

There is no right or wrong answer here – as it all depends on your own experience levels and that of anyone else you are travelling with. If you are an experienced, certified scuba diver, the best place to dive in Cairns is on the outer reef. If you are travelling with non-diving companions who are confident swimming in the open ocean, then it’s still the outer reef. If you are travelling with people who are not confident in the open ocean, then a pontoon tour might be for you or an island tour.

Scuba diving directly from the beaches in Cairns isn’t possible, as the nearest reef is approximately 20 kilometres offshore. To explore the reef, you’ll have to book a diving tour. These tours typically depart from Cairns or Port Douglas, and they will transport you by boat to a suitable reef location for scuba diving,

The closest place to dive from Cairns is Green Island, which is about 24km offshore. The next closest place to dive from Cairns are the pontoons at Moore Reef, which are around 47km offshore from Cairns. Finally the outer reefs, which are around 55km from Cairns.

There are around 20 dive operators working from Cairns. Some provide learn to dive courses, some operate diving day tours and others provide liveaboard diving tours. All are experienced reef tourism operators.

The diving off Cairns is usually a maximum of 25m, but most dives off Cairns go no deeper than 18m.

Yes – Cairns diving tours are suitable for Open Water divers. Most of the diving day tours and liveaboard tours on Cairns’ outer reefs do not go any deeper than 18m.

The answer is ‘Yes’ – our son is a Junior Open Water diver and he has completed 35 scuba dives on the boats from Cairns to the Great Barrier Reef in the past year. BUT we definitely recommend touching base with your dive operator of choice prior to booking, to ensure they can accommodate Junior Open Water Divers. As most dive boats insist on guided dives and as Junior Open Water divers can only go to a maximum of 12m it can sometimes cause some ‘complications’ on the dive deck.

Again, there is no ‘best boat’ as such. There are several award winning boats and tour operators, there are family owned tours which pride themselves on customer service, there are boats that go to islands, pontoons and the outer reef. The question to ask is ‘what boat is best for me?’ and hopefully you can find that answer with our tips and information.

The newest dive boat in Cairns is Evolution, which is run by Down Under Cruise and Dive. Evolution is a custom designed and built catamaran, that commenced Cairns reef tours in December 2015. As you can imagine, COVID and its associated border closures and restrictions impacted Cairns and the dive market heavily. The majority of reef boats are very well maintained and go through annual refits to ensure reliability and passenger comfort.

There is no right or wrong answer here, as it all depends on what you like looking at when you dive. For us personally, our favourite Cairns dive site is the 3 Sisters on Milln Reef, which is 3 large pinnacles offering swim throughs and an abundance of marine life. If you have more time and a bigger budget, then head north on a Cairns liveaboard diving trip, as some of our favourive dive sites are on the Ribbon Reefs, including the Cod Hole and Steve’s Bommie.

Every month is a good month to go diving in Cairns. The boats leave every day.

Diving on the outer reefs and pontoon from Cairns, you are guaranteed to see a few things, which includes a kaleidoscope of corals, schools of fusiliers, anemonefish of one form or another, snapper and sweetlips, feather stars, chromis and giant clams. We see these on every single Cairns diving trip, and we’ve done more than 300 dives here. Obviously you will see more than this, but the specifics of which depends on the day and the location and nature. There are more than 1,500 fish species that live on the reef, as well as several types of reef sharks, 6 of the world’s 7 marine turtle species, stingrays and more.

Yes – you can scuba dive in Cairns without a diving certificate. To do this, you must book an introductory dive. There are certain age and health restrictions surrounding this (you must be at least 12 years old, with no asthma, heart disease or diabetes – and more) and you will be guided by an experienced Dive Instructor.

If you are confident scuba diver, then it is better to go diving on one of Cairns outer reefs or reef pontoons, over an island. Why? The visibility is usually much better, as is the coral cover and diversity of marine life.

Controversial question – some reef operators will say ‘yes’ to this, as when you are doing an introductory dive, you are being held by the hand (literally) during the dive. However, realistically if you can’t swim, then staying submerged under the water during a scuba dive might be incredibly stressful. You must be a capable swimmer to participate in a learn to dive course and become a certified diver. This needs to be demonstrated during the course, by swimming a certain distance and also treading water for a certain amount of time. If you fail these skill tests, you will not become a certified scuba diver.

There is no right or wrong answer here. The best Cairns diving tour is the one that has the best destination and inclusions to deliver you the best experience, based on your individual skills, capabilities and interests. We’ve written our Cairns diving page to provide people with helpful information and advice, based on our years of experience, to help you decide what the best Cairns diving tour is, for you.

Yes – obviously you can still scuba dive in Cairns if it’s raining – you are going to get wet anyway. Assuming it is usual rain, the boats will still operate and you will still have an amazing day scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. In the event of a severe weather occasion – such as a tropical cyclone – then the boats will not go to the reef. This is for your safety. Cyclones can occur at any time between December and March, but are relatively rare usually happening once a year or once every couple of years. Also, just because it is raining in Cairns, does not mean it is raining at the reef. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t but irrespective you should still do it.

Honestly, there is no right or wrong answer here. What we will say, is that there are more diving boat tours in Cairns, than there is in Port Douglas, visiting a greater array of reef destinations. That being said, you should dive from wherever you are staying. If you are in Port Douglas, go diving in Port Douglas. If you are in Cairns, go diving with a Cairns operator. Both towns have fantastic Great Barrier Reef sites and it’s much better to spend your time travelling to the reef – rather than between towns and then the reef.

The worst Cairns diving tour is the one you take, that doesn’t match your skills, experience and expectations. Do your research, be honest on your own comfort levels, skills and abilities – and that of your family / friends, if you are travelling with them – and book a Cairns diving tour that ticks the right boxes, in regard to destination and inclusions, for you. Our advice and local knowledge is here to help.

No – scuba diving in Cairns is no more or less dangerous than snorkelling anywhere else. In fact, Cairns and Queensland, Australia have some of the most stringent and legislated scuba diving safety standards in the world. At all times, you should dive to your limits, your certification levels and your medical and physical capabilities.

Cairns is the best place to go diving on the Great Barrier Reef. We have more boats, more experience and are closer to it. Our tourism operators pride themselves on customer service, safety and sustainability. Our reef sites have excellent coral cover and biodiversity. It’s all here, waiting for you.

Cairns is best city to visit to see the Great Barrier Reef. We say this having visited the reef from Cairns, Mission Beach, Townsville, Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays. Our reef sites are close to the coast and the Continental Shelf. The coral cover is excellent and marine life is abundant. You can do day trips, island trips and liveaboard trips. Experienced, award winning tourism operators, delivering reef experiences which will stay with you for a lifetime. If you want wonderful Great Barrier Reef diving tours, book your plane, train or bus tickets to Cairns – we’ll see you on the reef.